updated 04:00 pm EST, Wed November 26, 2008

IdeaPad S10e six-cell

The Lenovo IdeaPad S10e netbook is reportedly shipping in Germany with a new, higher-capacity six-cell battery, according to a Wednesday report. In comparison, US versions make do with a three-cell battery. Furthermore, with a price of 329 Euros (about $425) for the Linux model, the netbook is the least costly 10.2-inch model of any brand with an Intel Atom chip and six-cell battery.

The netbooks thus equipped have already reportedly shipped to a few buyers, with the black versions selling out the fastest, white IdeaPads available in 24 hours and red ones shipping within 6 to 10 days.

The S10e has a Linux-based SplashTop interface called QuickStart that allows near-instant access to basic Internet functions such as Internet access with Flash support, messaging and audio and video chats instead of making users wait for the operating system to load. Hardware includes the 1.6GHz Atom CPU along with 512MB of RAM and an 80GB hard disk drive. A Windows XP version of the netbook without the SplashTop interface, called the IdeaPad S10, is priced at $399 in the US.

There is no mention whether or not the six-cell battery will eventually make its way into US-bound IdeaPad S10s or S10es.[viaEeePCNews.de]